Sprinkler



Jan. 4, 1938. w. VAN E. THOMPSON 2,104,281

' SPRINKLER Filed May 24, 1955 Manse AIM CI Tao/7mm,

Patented Jan. 4, 1938 PATENT OFFICE H SPRINKLER Walter Van E. Thompson, Los Angeles, a1if., as-

signor to Thompson Manufacturing Company, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application May 24, 1935, Serial No. 23,226

- 3 Claims.

My invention relates to spray devices, such as ,sprinkler heads, for, instance, and isparticularly adapted for use in connection with automatic sprinkler systems.

Insuchsystems, a number of sprinkler heads are connected to underground piping and arranged so that each sprinkler covers a certain predetermined area. In order that the spray from each sprinkler head may be controlled to cover the desired area, it is necessary to provide a valve means therein to adjustably control the volume of water being sprayed therefrom.

It has been found in practice that sprinkler heads frequently become clogged by snail shells, :16 moss, or other solid matter which may flow upward intothe headwith the incoming water from the supply pipes.

It is an object of the invention, therefore, to provide a strainer means for preventing any solid 20 matter which might be large enough to become caught in the valve passage means or the outlet orifice of the sprinkler from passing into the head from the supply pipe.

It is an object of my invention to provide a 25 sprinkler head having a valve controlled from the exterior of the head, and having a strainer means positioned so that water enters the head'through the strainer means directly from the supply pipe It is a further object to provide in such a 0 sprinkler head a strainer means comprising a restricted space through which the water passes before it flows through the valve opening, the cross-sectional area of the strainer space being larger than the valve opening.

5 A further object resides in the provision of a sprinkler head comprising only one stationary part and one movable part and including a valve, and a strainer means through which water passes before it flows through the valve, the parts being 40 arranged for convenient separation for cleaning.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a sprinkler in which the body is provided with a downwardly facing cavity with an outlet passage connected to the upper part of the cavity, and in 5 which there is situated in the cavity a valve and strainer means which not only performs a valve function but cooperates to provide a relatively narrow strainer opening.

It is a still further object of my invention to 50 provide a sprinkler of the character pointed out in the preceding paragraph in which the outlet passage is eccentrically positioned in the top Wall of the downwardly facing cavity.

It is another object of the invention to provide a 55 a sprinkler head including a stationary body providing a cavity, a bore communicating therewith in which a valve member is axially movable to close a valve passage communicating with the cavity, the valve member having a portion relatively spaced from the wall of an opening which 5 communicates between the cavity and a supply pipe to form. a strainer space through which water passes before it flows through the. valve passage, the area of the strainer space being unchanged by movement of the closure member. 10

It is also an object of my invention to provide an extremely simple and cheaply constructed sprinkler head having a minimum of parts yet embodying all of the desirable features and functions discussed above.

These and other objects will be apparent from a perusal of the following part of the specification and the appended claims in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawin Fig. l is a sectional view showing one embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is another sectional View showing a second embodiment in which my invention may be incorporated.

Referring generally to the two forms disclosed, the invention comprises essentially a stationary part or body I l, a movable part l2 which is adapted for axial movement in a bore provided in the stationary body, a strainer space l3 formed by relatively spaced walls of the stationary body and the movable part, a seating surface Hi formed on the stationary body, and valve passage means 15 disposed to be closed by the movable part seating on the seating surface.

Coming now to a description of the details of construction, with reference to Fig. 1 I show the stationary part as comprising a cylindrical part 16 having a dividing wall or partition I! extending across the interior thereof to provide a depending skirt l8 which is internally threaded as at E9 to threadedly receive a supply pipe 26 and to define an upward opening recess 2 i. The part 16 is preferably provided with a flange 22 having wrench-engaging notches 23 to facilitate the threading of the part it on the pipe 20. The recess 2i is internally threaded to receive a threaded plug 25 which when threaded in the recess cooperates with the wall of the recess 2| to define a cavity 26 which, as shown, is a downwardly facing cavity. The parts l6 and 25 of my invention,,although threadedly secured together, constitute a body in which the downwardly directed cavity is formed.

Formed in the plug 25 is a bore 30 threaded to receive the movable part [2 which constitutes a valve and strainer means of the device which comprises a threaded stem 3| and an enlarged head portion 32 which extends into a cylindrical opening 33 formed in the dividing wall I1 and concentric with the bore 30.

The head portion 32 of the movable part I2 is of smaller diameter than the diameter of the opening 33 so that the relative spacing thereof provides the annular strainer space [3 communicating directly between the supply pipe 20 and the cavity 26, substantially in the manner shown.

Formed in the upper portion of the plug 25 is a kerfed slot 35 which serves as the outlet orifice of the sprinkler head. Formed through the body of the plug 25 is a vertically extending valve passage 36 which communicates between the outlet orifice 35 and the cavity 26, and forms the valve passage means 15 of the invention. It will be noted in the form of my invention illustrated the passage I is eccentrically positioned with respect to the axis of the cavity.

The threaded stem 3| of the movable part I2 is provided at the upper end thereof with a screw driver slot 31, or other suitable means, for rotating the movable part from the exterior of the body so that by threading the stem 3! axially upward in the bore 33, the head portion 32 may be caused to seat on the seating surface l4 provided by the lower surface of the plug 25. The head portion 32 may thus be adjusted to completely close the valve passage 36, or may be spaced therefrom as desired to control the volume of water flowing through the valve passage 36.

It will be seen that the cross-sectional area of the annular strainer space I3 is unaffected by the upward or downward movement of the valve member or movable part [2. The cross-sectional width of the strainer space being less than the cross-sectional area of the valve passage 36, portions of solid obstructing matter such as shells, moss, etc., which would be large enough to possibly obstruct the valve passage are effectively prevented from entering the cavity 26 or the valve passage 36, for the reason that water passes from the supply pipe 20, first through the strainer means l3, and then through the valve passage 36.

Referring to Fig. 2, this form of the invention is similar in all respects to the form disclosed and described in Fig. 1 with the exception that the plug 25 is formed to extend downward in contact with the dividing wall I7, and the cavity 26 is formed in the lower portion of the plug 25 so as to be coextensive with the cylindrical opening 33 in the wall I'd, substantially in the manner shown. The upper wall 50, defining the cavity 26 comprises the seating surface M of this form of the invention, and the passage 36 comprising the valve passage means l5 communicates through this wall 553 with the cavity 26.

In this form of the invention also, water passes first through the strainer space i 3, defined by the head 32 of the valve member l2 and the coextensive cylindrical wall of the opening 33 and the cavity 26, and then through the valve passage 36.

It will be seen that I have; provided an extremely simple and cheaply constructed sprinkler head having only one movable part which is easily accessible from the exterior of the head to control the volume of water flowing therefrom and thus adjust the area covered by the sprinkler. The device includes an efficient strainer means: effectively preventing obstructing material from entering the head. Likewise, the part in which the outlet orifice and the valve opening are formed is adapted for convenient removal from the head, for cleaning out the orifice and the valve opening, in the event that debris drops into the sprinkler head through the outlet orifice.

The two forms disclosed in the drawing illustrate the essence of the invention, but it should be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the details of construction thus disclosed. Various modifications of the invention might be devised, including in the combination the strainer space, formed by the relatively spaced walls of the stationary and movable parts through which water passes directly from the supply pipe, and the valve member, movable from the exterior of the head and adapted to close the passage means communicating with the outlet orifice, to control the volume of the spray.

The true scope of the invention should, therefore, be interpreted not by the drawing, or by specific reference to constructional details in the i specification, but with reference to the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a sprinkler, the combination of abody providing a downwardly facing cavity, an outlet passage connected to the upper part of said cavity, and a spray opening at the outlet end of said outlet passage; and valve and strainer means p0- sitioned in said cavity for forming a relatively narrow strainer opening and including means for adjusting its position for restricting said outlet passage upon upward movement.

2. In a sprinkler, the combination of: a body providing a downwardly facing cavity having a cylindrical side wall, an eccentrically positioned outlet passage connected to the upper part of said cavity, and a spray opening at the outlet end of said outlet passage; and valve and strainer means positioned in said cavity and having a cylindrical wall cooperating with said side wall of said cavity for forming a relatively narrow strainer opening and being adjustable for restricting said outlet passage upon upward movement.

3. In a sprinkler, the combination of: a body providing a downwardly facing cavity having a side wall and a top wall, and also providing an outlet passage eccentrically connecting to said top wall; and a closure member positioned in said cavity having a side wall cooperating with said side wall of said cavity for defining a relatively narrow strainer space, and having an upper wall adapted to control the volume of flow through said outlet passage.

WALTER VAN E. THOMPSON. 

